The second of the four concerts in the NZSO's Sibelius Festival drew a much smaller audience than the previous night, with its Finlandia and the Violin Concerto. Old story: a soloist is essential to the box office. But because this one contained the Fourth Symphony – and the First too, which is far from merely journeyman work – and because it was played with such vision and spellbinding build-up of tension at its climaxes, this was the best of the four concerts. I would have reversed the order of the two symphonies, because the profundity of the Fourth would have been my...  Read More »